In the February 2021 ASP Newsletter I commented on and gave “potted precises” of the work done on large scale repurposing of known drugs in order to try to “short-circuit” the time required to test, and hopefully bring to market, a number of potential candidates as drugs, ideally delivered orally.…However, in a very recent article in Science both sets of authors in a joint paper demonstrated that a significant proportion of the compounds identified, including a number of those “pushed by various political figures” in the early stages of the “pandemic,” were artifacts in terms of being antiviral agents and/or leads thereto.

As we collectively surpass a year and a half together in the global COVID-19 pandemic, many of us suffer from online meeting fatigue and sore monitor eyes. The ASP overcame these challenges this summer and hosted a virtual conference series on July 16, 23, and 30 entitled “Vanguards of Natural Product Research 2021,” leveraging the Virtual Chair platform as a venue to increase engagement and personal connection. The program was very successful in building and maintaining meaningful connections and providing important opportunities to younger members of our society at a crucial moment in their careers.